The present invention is related to electrical component assemblies and their method of manufacture. More specifically, the present invention is related to providing mechanical protection for electrical components in an assembly while also readily providing for sealing at least some of these components and/or electrical interconnections to these components from the environment.
In prior electrical component assemblies, it is known to provide a rigid cover over the components to provide mechanical protection. In some instances, this cover may be termed a housing instead of a component cover, but in each case the function is to provide mechanical protection for the components. Some of these prior covers have holes in them to provide air ventilation for the protected components. In component assemblies such as these it may also be necessary to provide an environmental seal over certain of these electrical components and/or critical electrical interconnection points to these components. Typically a silicone rubber or epoxy is utilized as an environmental sealing material which is deposited over each of the areas to be sealed, and then the protective mechanical cover is applied over the electrical component assembly. While clearly this is a feasible technique, generally elaborate fixturing and guide mechanisms are utilized to dispense and guide the environmental sealing material to the appropriate locations on the electrical assembly. The present invention deals with an improved electrical component assembly and method of manufacture which minimizes the extensive guiding mechanisms previously utilized to apply the environmental sealing material in the appropriate locations on the assembly.